Swinging drawbar extension???

[Wal]

How can I fix this problem guys? I have this 4x8 trailer I got from Harbor Freight. You know, the kind that folds up /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I got the one with 12 inch wheels for extra clearance in the woods. It works real nice except for one, teeny, tiny problem. The dang /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif front "A-frame" hits the back tires even during just a moderate turn, let alone a sharp turn. This is, as you might guess, is a major inconvenience dodging trees and such. This trailer has the ball coupler right at the end of the "A-frame", with no straight extension which would put the coupler away from the front of the trailer. Anyway, to try and make a long story short, the problem would be solved if I could: 1. Extend the ball coupler away from the "A-frame" by maybe 18 inches or so, or 2. Somehow extend the swinging drawbar out from the back of the tractor by the same 18 inches. This is a B7500, by the way. I have tried using a 3 pt hitch drawbar, but its just the same problem except then the trailer frame is hitting the left or right side of the 3 pt drawbar. Has anyone made or bought an extension for their swinging drawbar? Any details would be helpful /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Knight9]

Sorry for this goofy question Wal, but have you extended the drawbar as much as possible? I believe I have 3 options for pin placement on mine.

Kevin

 

[Wal]

Kevin,

Ah, if it was only that simple . . . . . . /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif. Yup, the drawbar is out as far as she'll go, Kevin. In case anyone has trouble deciphering my description of the problem, here is a schematic of the trailer.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Wal:
I just bought a 4' piece of 1/4" thick wall square tubing from a trailer dealer at $2 per foot. I'm sure it would be cheaper at a steel company. The trailer place also had a hitch made to go on a 2" trailer tongue. My recommendation is to buy the length of tubing you need to reach all the way to the frame cross member and weld it on as a new tongue. If you don't want to go that far back, you could also just jave it extend about two feet behind the current hitch and put a cross piece of the same tubing on top of the A frame channels. Either way, it should be plenty strong.

 

[jinman]

Walter, I'm in agreement with Charlie Iliff (if I understand what he is saying). I think you should extend your trailer tongue instead of the drawbar. If you get too far back on the drawbar and you have a heavy load on your trailer, you will get very light on your front wheels. I'd modify the trailer. ...my two cents.

 

[pennwalk]

Could you make a tongue Extention to move the A-frame farther back from the hitch? Down at the boat ramp they have a piece of 2 inch square tube with a hitch on one end and a bracket on the other end that hooks on the trailer frame there is a ball mounted to the tube that goes in the traler hitch. Lets you get the trailer far enough in to launch the boat without emerseing your car.

Chris

 

[Bird]

Wal, that's precisely why I made the contraption you see in the attached picture. It gets the hitch on the 3-point so I can easily raise or lower it, and it gets the ball back behind the drawbar so I can turn quite sharply with either of my trailers or my neighbor's trailers.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Wal:
Bird's attachment is a better idea than the trailer modification I recommended.

 

[MossRoad]

Very nice, Bird.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Wal, I made a hitch to mount on the 3pt. My trailer is also an A-frame and with the hitch I can have the trailer at almost a right angle to the tractor without it hitting. Northern sells something similar if you don't weld. You can see my hitch at:

http://www.mgsweb.com/tractor/hacker/hitch2.htm

I used it quite a bit the last few weeks hauling lumber for a fence in the woods and sharp turns were never a limiting factor. I think having the hitch ball further to the rear also makes controling the trailer easier when backing up.

Andy

 

[jinman]

Bird, I like your attachment, but isn't your B2710 much bigger than Walter's B7500? With a short tongue on his trailer, he is putting much more of the load weight on the tractor and shifting the center of gravity aft. If he keeps sand in his FEL bucket, it might give him some counterweight. What do you think?

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>isn't your B2710 much bigger than Walter's B7500</font color=blue>

Yes, but when I made that contraption, I made it to use on my B7100./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif And yes, you could put too much weight on the tongue, but so far with my trailers I've not had any problem even without the FEL on the B2710, and of course, the FEL was not quick attach, so it was always on the B7100 (never used any ballast in it though). Just depends on how much weight he puts on that trailer and how it's distributed. Some of the other guys have made much nicer rigs. Mine would be considered "light duty" and was made from scraps on hand at the time./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[EdKing]

Wal,
I think this is what Charlie had in mind. See attachment.

Ed King

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

"<font color=red>I think this is what Charlie had in mind. See attachment.</font color=red>"
Exactly. We graphics challenged types thank you.
Extending the tongue reduces tongue weight on the tractor, but that is really not an issue. That trailer can't put enough weight on it to bother the tractor. Extending the tongue also makes the trailer run inside the arc of rear tractor tires in turns, however, which is why I signed on to Bird and Andy's offerings. The three-point drawbars leverage the tongue weight a bit, raising the front, but not much, and help rather than harm maneuverability.

 

[Darren]

I built an attachment similar to Bird's with the exception of incorporating a receiver in the center. Like a receiver on a truck it can take any insert with any size ball or a pintle. Depending on the receiver section you use (I've seen them from 12" up to 48" long) you can extend the reach way behind the tractor tires.

 

[Egon]

Bird:

I've got one on the same principle as yours.Its made out of channel and angle iron with a chain hook up high. Mine has angle iron with holes for the links. Works really well for pulling logs and rocks as you can put a lot of weight on the rear tires for good traction. And yes I fill the bucket to keep the front wheels down.
Materials came from the Employee Extended Benefits Plan and the neighbour did the welding.

Egon

 

[jdrotert]

I agree with Bird and Andy. Attached is my solution. You can see the thread I started about construction of the hitch <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=78267&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>here</A> .

 

[Wal]

OK guys,

I finished my drawbar project, and here is what I did. Cheapskate and lazy guy that I am /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, I spent about ten bucks on this mod. I bought a piece of 3/16 inch angle iron about 18 inchs long and two 3/4 inch bolts, nuts, and washers. Drilled holes in it to attach it to the drawbar and put the hitch ball at the other end. It puts the ball about 12 inchs further out than it was. The set-up is much stronger than one might think just looking at it. I can stand on the hitch and bounce up and down with no problem. I have have also hauled a full load of brush and logs. Again, no problemo'. And the best part is /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif , I can turn the tractor 90 degrees to the trailer with nothing hitting /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

 

[MarkV]

Cheap, quick and easy! My kind of project./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

MarkV

 

[rmcess]

Wal.
<font color=blue>"Cheapskate and lazy"?</font color=blue>
I prefer "frugal and efficient"
Looks good and it serves its purpose, can't beat that!
Rich...